Free groceries as glitch strikes Woolworths stores

Michael Koziol

Woolworths supermarkets briefly ground to a halt following a computer glitch on Thursday afternoon. The malfunction was reportedly causing all items priced under $10 to scan for free.

Staff at the Sydney Town Hall store told Fairfax Media they only ceased trading for about a minute. It is understood the problem occurred about 3pm and all stores are now back open and operating normally.

A Woolworths spokesperson confirmed there had been "some issues" with point of sale systems.

"We had a computer glitch. It was for a relatively short period and is now fixed," the spokesperson said.

"We're talking minutes rather than anything longer than that."

Woolworths said stores in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania were affected. But contrary to earlier reports stores did not shut their doors and the company did not issue instructions for all stores to be closed.